Bacon's Rebellion

Democracy Thrives in Sunlight

An Ignominious Footnote to Bacon-Related History

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by

James A. Bacon
in

One of America’s founding fathers is finally getting his due: Old Bacon Face. That was the moniker bestowed upon Samuel Chase — an Annapolis, Md. lawyer, signer of the Declaration of Independence, and member of the U.S. Supreme Court — whose mug had a reddish-brown complexion. The House of Representatives voted to impeach Chase in 1805 for his outrageously partisan behavior on the bench, but the Senate could not muster two-thirds majorities to convict him.

This history lesson comes from the Washington Post in the wake of Democratic presidential candidates calling for the impeachment of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. Chase was the only Supreme Court Justice ever to be impeached.

— JAB

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2 responses to “An Ignominious Footnote to Bacon-Related History”

  1. LarrytheG Avatar
    LarrytheG

    Well, we seem to completed the transition from a primarily Virginia focus to a full-up partisan national one… eh?

    The popular (not legal) due-process standard in the me-too realm today is if more than one woman accuses you – it’s tantamount to being guility – you’re tainted and unfit for any kind of leadership or high profile position – and it’s applied across the political spectrum – though the Dems risk some serious backlash – as does the NYT if this kind of thing continues.

    But I have to say – it’s not a good thing for BR to move from Virginia focus to a national politics focus and in a partisan way either… I guess it’s a sign of the times.

    1. James A. Bacon Avatar
      James A. Bacon

      Nah, Bacon’s Rebellion is not switching to a national focus — I’m just following in the long tradition of keeping up with bacon-related news.

      But, you know what, I’ll cut the last sentence of this post to keep the focus where it belongs — on Old Bacon Face.

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